Dragon Chronicles : The Date
by darkchild09
Summary: You guys'll have to read the first one to understand this. Sequel to Enter the Dragon. Dustin asks Jade out on a date. Rated T for some cussing here and there.
1. Chapter 1

disclaimer: I don't own anything! Except Jade. Hihi. 3 Before reading this, it would help if you read the first one: Enter the Dragon. The first one was crappy, but I promise to make this one better, orayt? 

Dustin Brooks ran restless fingers through his hair, making the raven strands stand on end. He made a face at himself at the mirror and flattened it until he was satisfied with how it looked. Then he cleared his throat. "Hey, Jade," he said. "Jade, hi." He adopted a gangsta pose and yelled, "Whassup homie?"

"What are you doing?"

He jumped and turned around to face Blake and Hunter Bradley, who stared at him skeptically."Don't do that!" he exclaimed. "You guys nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," Blake shrugged. He squinted at his friend. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Nothing man," Dustin didn't want to admit that the Jade that he was talking about--as if there were any other--was Jade Thomas, Tori Hanson's estranged cousin from Los Angeles. He had a huge crush on the girl and was planning on asking her out soon.

Hunter made a derisive noise. "Practicing," he teased, a wicked grin forming on his face, "for when he asks out Jade."

The Bradley brothers hooted with laughter while Dustin blushed a deep scarlet. "Come on dude," he protested. "Can you blame me?"

"Whatever man," Blake managed to choke in between chuckles. "I don't think you're exactly her type, you know?"

"No way," he replied. But even as he spoke, he doubted. The girl in question was intense. Having lost her parents a few years ago, she hesitated getting close to anyone and usually hid behind a mask of bravado and sarcasm. But no one ever said that the Yellow Wind Ranger gave up too easily. "You guys'll see. I'm asking her out today!" he emphasized his point by banging his fist on the counter, which only made the Bradley brothers laugh even harder. He opened his mouth to speak again, only to be interrupted by the door slamming shut and a person's angry footsteps.

Jade walked into the store and flipped her long auburn hair over one shoulder as she stared angrily at her cousin. "I already told you Tori," she roared. "I'm not going out with any of your surfer buddies!"

Tori blew at her bangs. "Look," she said, trying to calm down her raging cousin. "I just wanted you to get socialized. You know, like...go on a date or something. Just relax."

Jade chuckled, but there was no humor in her laughter. "You of all people know that I can't relax," she answered with a raised eyebrow. She had very little time to spend on frivolities. Now that she had sided up with the Wind and Thunder ninjas, she had two evil space ninjas who wanted her dead instead of just one.

The girl sighed and squeezed her cousin's shoulder. "The effort was appreciated," she said. "I just really don't think I fit in with you happy lot. I'll be at Ops if anyone needs me." She wiggled her fingers and left the shop.

Dustin stared after her his mouth hanging slightly open. When he saw the smirks on the Bradley brothers' faces, he held up his hands. "Dudes," he warned. "Not a word."


	2. Chapter 2

disclaimer: sadly, I don't own power rangers ninja storm. aww. tear

At Ninja Ops, Dustin watched from afar while Jade worked on the computer. She was the only one that Cam allowed to touch his precious files as he had recently discovered that she wasn't likely to cause any damage. The girl was so engrossed in her zord modifications that she barely noticed Hunter and Shane sparring noisily in a corner.

"So what about your big plan?" Blake asked, sitting down next to his friend.

"I'm getting to that," answered Dustin. He pushed himself off the floor and called, "Hey Jade!"

"Oh mother...shit," Jade stared openmouthed at the monitor. "I just lost half my codes! How the fuck did this happen!" She typed furiously, trying to salvage the rest. "Did you say something?" she asked, staring at her comrade with her creepy blue and green peepers.

He took one look at her eyes and a shiver ran down his spine. "N-nothing," he stammered, sitting back down on the floor. Mentally, he berated himself for being so weak. How was it that a single glance from her could send him cowering like an idiot?

Blake took one look at him and rolled his eyes. "Cam?" he poked the Green Samurai Ranger in the shoulder. "You wouldn't happen to have a pen and paper, would you?"

Cam obliged shooting the both of them highly amused glances. "What's this about?" he asked. He had watched the previous attempt and had managed to turn his chuckles into a hacking cough only a few seconds ago.

"It's an intervention," grinned Blake as he scribbled. He waved the paper out of reach when Dustin tried to grab it. "Have faith in me, Dustin."

"I'm placing my social life in the hands of a guy who can't even ask out Tori?" he asked doubtfully.

"She's out surfing," Blake replied randomly with a blush. He ducked his head, finishing the message with a flourish. He crumpled it up into a ball and elbowed them both in the ribs. "Watch and learn." He threw the paper ball with stunning accuracy, hitting Jade hard in the back of her head.

* * *

Jade turned around. Hunter and Shane were still sparring (_Jesus, how long can they keep that up?_ she thought wearily) while Cam, Blake and Dustin sat on the floor, the first two making cheerful conversation. The Yellow Ranger was looking up at the ceiling as though he found it utterly fascinating.

_Idiots_, she thought, shaking her head as she bent down to pick up the offensive ball of paper. But then, she realized with a smile, she was slowly getting fond of these overly sentimental ninjas.

Jade unfolded the paper and moved her lips as she read. "'Will you go out with me tomorrow night? Dustin.'" Underneath, he had drawn two boxes, one marked yes and the other marked no. She sighed and turned back to the computer, contemplating the situation. Once again, she was torn between doing what she wanted and doing what was right.

Since her arrival in Blue Bay Harbor, Jade had been mostly hanging out with Dustin. They were the most mismatched duo in the area, but neither of them really minded. His happy-go-lucky nature offset her propensity to lose her temper over the strangest things. Though would rather swallow Harlequin than admit it, she was sort of developing a tiny crush on him.

But it wasn't as if she could pursue her crush. Aside from the fact that her reputation as a cold-hearted bitch would be ruined, she wasn't willing to have Medusa or Lothor use that information against her. She had to be careful; she couldn't just wear her emotions on her sleeve. Especially when there were real things to worry about.

She picked up a pen and marked the 'no' box with a little tick mark. _Me and Sunshine Bear_, thought Jade with a dry grin. _What a happy couple we would be._ She raised her hand to toss it, only to lower it once more with a sigh. She looked at Dustin, feeling her heartbeat quicken its pace.

Jade unraveled the paper and picked up a pen, feeling a smile form on her face. It couldn't hurt to try.

--

"Ouch!" Dustin rubbed his forehead, where the paper ball had hit him. He glared at Jade, who had turned back to the computer after throwing back the message. It seemed that she had charged it with a little more kinetic energy than necessary to retaliate.

"What did she say?" Cam asked, suddenly interested in the proceedings.

The Yellow Ranger unfolded the paper and felt his heart sink like the Titanic when he saw that she had checked the 'no' box. Blake patted his arm in condolences and stood up to join his older brother. "Damn," groaned Dustin, passing on the slip of paper to his bespectacled comrade.

Cam adjusted his glasses and felt himself smile despite himself. "You want to know what I think?" he asked.

"Dude, not really, but sure. Go ahead."

The computer-whiz returned the paper and stood up. "I think you should learn how to read."

Dustin stared after him, sputtering like a goldfish. He lowered his eyes down to the paper and felt happiness rise in his chest. For in neat, precise cursive, Jade had written four words:

How about tomorrow afternoon?


	3. Chapter 3

disclaimer: i own nothing! except for jade. and kim kibum and jeong yunho. and...my harem of ghei korean popstars. 8D

* * *

"Mrs. Harper from next door called," Tori said, walking into the guest bedroom with a pile of freshly laundered sheets. "She wants to know if you're available to babysit the twins tomorrow afternoon."

Jade looked up from her black painted toenails and groaned. "I hate kids," she grumbled. "I only watched the little monsters because I needed the cash. Do you know how long it takes to wash strained beets out of your hair?" She touched her blue-streaked auburn strands. "Besides, I've already got plans for tomorrow."

"You've got plans?" Tori repeated unbelievingly. "You have plans? With who?"

"I don't think I feel like sharing that with you," replied the other girl loftily.

Tori stared at her cousin, trying to figure out with whom she traded the chance to earn more money. The phone rang however, before she got a chance to ask. "Hello?" she asked. "Oh hi, Dustin. Uh...sure." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and stared questioningly at her. "Why is my best friend calling for you?"

Jade shot her a 'don't ask' look and grabbed the cordless. "Dustin, your timing is impeccable," she snarled, pushing Tori away when she tried to listen in.

The boy either missed the sarcasm, or chose to ignore it altogether. "Thanks," he replied. "I borrowed my sister's car. What time should I pick you up tomorrow?"

"For what?"

There was silence. "For our...date?"

Jade smacked herself in the forehead with her hand. _Date,_ she thought. The word didn't even begin to describe the floaty feelings in her stomach. Despite herneed to feel clinically detatched to the world, she still felt her heart skip a beat when she heard his voice. "Right," she said. "I knew that. Um...why don't we meet at Storm Chargers at say around...three...ish?"

"That sounds good," answered Dustin, his voice hinting that he was happy-dancing all over his room. "So I'll see you then. And Jade?"

"Huh?"

"I'm glad you said yes," he said quickly before hanging up.

Jade clicked off the phone and stared at it with a wry smile. "What?" she asked innocently, when Tori's face cracked into a slow, silly grin.

"I knew it!" she yelled gleefully. "I knew you liked Dustin!"

"I do not," sniffed Jade, trying to maintain some sense of pride and dignity.

"Then why are you blushing?" Tori asked smugly.

* * *

Up in Lothor's space ship, Kapri searched for her sister. She found her sitting in Uncle's chair, thumbing through the latest issue of Alien Queen Magazine.

"So guess what?" she asked.

"Can't it wait?" answered Marah with a roll of her eyes. "I'm reading up on ways to win the Yellow Ranger back."

Kapri rolled her eyes. Marah had tried to trick the rangers into showing her the location of Ninja Ops and had fallen in love with Dustin Brooks in the process. "Like Uncle would even let you go out with a goody-goody Power Ranger," she snorted. "Besides, he asked out the Midnight Shadow Ranger today."

The magazine fell from Marah's hands as she let out an outraged shriek of horror. "How could he like her better than me?" she sputtered. "She's like...pissed off half the time and she has no fashion sense! Not to mention that awful blue hair...and those piercings--"

"There is nothing wrong with blue hair," Kapri retorted, fingering her own bubblegum pink locks. "Besides, maybe he's into the whole Gothic piercing thing."

"You know, you could do something about that."

The two of them looked up to see Medusa. Neither of them were very fond of this newcomer; Uncle Lothor treated her more as a daughter than his pupil.

"You and I have more in common than I thought, Marah," purred Medusa. "We were both denied the one thing that would cause us great joy. May I make a suggestion?" She leaned closer and whispered in Marah's ear.

"What do you get out of it?" she demanded tearfully.

"Oh, the pleasure of having the Midnight Shadow Ranger destroyed," Medusa responded nonchalantly. "Of course if you want her to be forever happy with the Yellow Ranger, be my guest."

Marah grabbed the older woman's wrist as she started to stand. "Just tell me what to do," she said.


End file.
